Preventing Scratches on Cabochons

Preventing Scratches on Cabochons

We’re always getting questions from readers and today I thought we’d revisit a question from an earlier post. I’m sure some of you have had the same question as you’ve begun learning how to wire wrap.

Question: How do I prevent scratches on my cabs when I adjust the top wire on pendants and rings, such as the Pharaohs Ring?

Answer: There are three basic guidelines that can prevent scratches on your cabochons while locking them into a frame or setting.

Never use a twisted wire as the wire to pull over the top of a cabochon.

Be sure you have used enough wires for a cabochon frame, because having to reach down with a tool and pull a wire up and then bend it over a cabochon can scratch the cab.

Practice your cabochon ring and pendant frames using stones with a Mohs hardness of 6 or more, such as quartz, jasper, and agate. When you are more confident with your tool techniques, then move on to softer stones such as malachite.

Answer contributed by Dale “Cougar” Armstrong

If you’d like to learn how to do more extensive wire work, take a look at our selection of Wire Jewelry Books and Instructional DVDS. We have many plenty choose from.

Hi Patience I think the stone in this article is a Larimar which is one of my favorite stones. I haven’t seen any Larimar for sale here but it was on the gem profiles I think. It is such a beautiful stone and the ring is lovely. BeBeaz

I designed a way to keep my cabs from scratches so I can use even opals in this setting. It was really an accident as I used a flat opal stone without any dome and what to do with the wires on the side was the trouble. I started making swirls with the wires one at a time and placed them on the stone on both sides in a decorative style and it worked very well. It protects the opal yet it can been seen and I get quite a lot of complements when I wear it. I have taught a few of my advanced students this technique using all sorts of stones and it is quite lovely no matter what the stone used. BeBeaz